New To Me
by Chrissy G
Summary: Harry hits his head and afterwards, he finds himself in a world where he doesn't exist. How did he get there? Why is he there? How will he get back to his world? Who will help him? Warning: May not be compatible with Half Blood Prince or Deathley Hallows.
1. Chapter 1

New To Me

Chapter One

"Ron," Harry said. "I really don't think that we should be up here."

"We'll be fine," Ron said. "Don't worry." He slid himself out the open window and stepped out onto the roof of the burrow. "C'mon, hurry. We might miss it."

Harry turned to Hermione. "Ladies, first."

"If you insist," she said. She climbed out the window and joined Ron on the roof. "Oh, it's so beautiful up here! Harry, you've got to see this!"

Harry joined the other two on the rooftop. He looked up at the sky and could see the stars starting to come out. "Oh, wow."

Ron grinned. "Told you so."

They all sat down and watched the night sky light up. It was summer time and Harry and Hermione had been visiting with Ron, but tomorrow morning they would be heading back to school.

"Can't believe that we only have two years of school left," Hermione said. "Can you believe it?"

"I know," Ron said. "I can't believe we've survived this long."

Hermione pulled her knees into her chest. "What do you think will happen when school's all done?"

Harry shrugged. "Don't know. Guess we'll have to figure that out for ourselves."

Hermione turned to Harry and saw him gazing off into the night sky, his face with a distant look. "You all right there, Harry?"

Harry turned to look at her. "Yeah. Just thinking."

"About what?"

Harry sighed. "All the things that have gone on these last five years. I'm surprised _I _survived it all."

Hermione smiled. "You're a great wizard, Harry. You know that."

"I know. I just sometimes wish that…I could be…normal."

"What would you want to be normal for?" Ron asked.

Harry just shook his head. "You guys don't understand."

"It's not easy for you," Hermione said. "We get that."

"Oh, look!" Ron pointed to the sky. "A shooting star!"

"Quick," Hermione said. "Make a wish."

The three wizards closed their eyes tightly and silently made their wishes. After a moment or so, they opened their eyes and looked at each other.

"What did you guys wish for?" Harry asked.

Hermione laughed. "Don't you know the rules of wishing? If you tell what you wished for, the wish won't come true."

"Ron! Harry! Hermione!" called Mrs. Weasley from somewhere inside the house. "Where are you?"

"Be right there!" Ron called back. He turned to the others. "We'd better get back inside."

Harry and Hermione agreed. They all stood and made their way back to the window. As they did, suddenly, Harry's foot slipped. He screamed as he slid down the roof, catching onto the edge.

"Harry!" Hermione yelled. "Are you OK?"

Harry tried to pull himself back up onto the roof. He used all the upper body strength he had, but was still left dangling. "I'm stuck!"

"Just hang on!" Ron yelled.

Harry's hands were slowly starting to slip from edge. "I'm slipping! I can't hold on!"

"Grab my hand!" Ron extended a hand to Harry.

Harry freed one hand and tried to grab Ron's. As he did, he lost his grip and started to fall.

"Harry!" he heard both Hermione and Ron yell.

Harry hit the ground and was knocked out cold.

HP 

_Beep…beep…beep…beep…_

Harry slowly started to come around. He opened his eyes and looked around the room.He sat up slowly, still a bit weak. He recognized that he was in a hospital room. A muggle one.

But Harry sensed that something wasn't quite right. He touched a hand to his face and realized he wasn't wearing his glasses. Yet, he could see perfectly.

Just then, a nurse came into the room. She looked at Harry and smiled.

"Hey," she said. "You're awake. How do you feel?" Harry shrugged. "Well, nothing's broken, you can be glad for that. You do have quite a bump on the head, though. I'm going to go get your doctor and I'll send your parents in."

"My parents?" Harry asked.

"Yeah. You're mum and dad?"

"I don't have a mum and dad. My parents are dead. They died when I was a year old."

The nurse just stared at him with a blank look. "Oh. Um, OK. Well, I'm going to go get the people that brought you here. You just sit tight for now."

Harry nodded. The nurse turned and left the room. The last thing he could remember was falling off of the roof. He was pretty sure that the Weasleys had brought him here and that was whom the nurse was going to be sending in. When the door opened a few minutes later, it wasn't the Weasleys who came in. It was a tall dark haired man accompanied by a shorter, dark haired woman. They both smiled at Harry and came over to his bedside.

"My baby," the woman said and she kissed him on the forehead.

"What the fuck?" Harry asked.

"Hey," the man said. "You had better watch your mouth, young man."

"Who the bloody hell are you?"

The woman laughed. "I'm Martha. Your mother? You know, the woman who spent thirteen hours in labor with you?"

"And I'm Albert," the man said. "Your father? You know, the man who taught you how to shave?"

Harry eyes widened. He threw the covers off of the bed and stood up. He looked back and forth between the two of them, backing away from them as a panic started to build. "Is this some kind of a sick joke?" he asked.

Martha and Albert looked at each other.

"No," Martha said. "You're our son. Donald Jefferson Bradley."

"My name is Harry James Potter."

"Darling, we've had this conversation when you were younger. You are not Harry Potter. That's just a character you play in a movie."

Harry gave her a curious look. "What?"

"Harry Potter is a series of children's books that have been turned into movies. You are the actor that plays Harry Potter."

Harry suddenly felt dizzy. He fainted, and Martha caught him before he hit the floor.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

Harry awoke with a start only to find that he was still in the hospital room. He slapped his face, trying to convince himself that this was all just a bad dream.

"Ow," he said and rubbed his cheek. "Oh, bloody hell. I'm not dreaming."

Just then he heard voices in the hallway linger in through the slightly ajar door. He lay still with his eyes closed, listening to everything that was going on.

"Doctor Martin," Albert said. "This is just too strange for words."

"Mr. Bradley," the doctor said. "Donald has suffered a head injury. It's not uncommon for him to have amnesia."

"Yes," Martha said. "But he believes that he's Harry Potter!"

"Again, not uncommon for a head injury," Dr. Martin said.

"So how do we convince him otherwise?"

"Talk to him. Show him old home movies and pictures. Tell him stories about his childhood. Hopefully, that'll get his memory going again."

"Hopefully?" Albert asked.

"I cannot guarantee when his memory will come back or if it even will at all."

"They start filming the sixth movie tomorrow morning," Martha said. "He can't possibly do it like this. They can't shut down production."

"Martha," Albert said. "They _can_ postpone the start of production."

"And lose money each day they push it back. This is a bloody huge production."

"What other choice do they have? They're not going to replace him, not five movies in."

Martha sighed. "I don't know."

"It will all work out. Trust me. We'll make a few phone calls, everything will be fine."

Then Harry heard their footsteps fade off down the hallway. He opened his eyes again and sighed deeply. Terror started to take a hold of him. Facing Voldemort, slaying dragons, battling dementors, asking a girl to the Yule Ball. All that was nothing compared to the fear he had now. He had no magic. His past was something that only existed in an imaginary world. Harry wanted to cry.

Suddenly, the door creaked open. Harry looked over and a smile broke onto his face when he saw those two familiar faces of a redheaded boy and a brunette girl.

"Hey, Don," they said in unison.

Suddenly the smile ran away from Harry's face. He had to remember that these were not the people he knew.

"Um, hi," Harry said.

The boy turned to the girl and whispered something to her. The girl nodded.

"I hope you don't mind," the girl said. "Martha-your mum- said that we could visit with you for a little bit. Would that be all right?"

Harry nodded. The girl sat down on the edge of his bed. The boy took a seat in a chair.

"Sorry," Harry said. "I don't know either of you."

"Yeah," the boy said. "Your mum told us you wouldn't know us."

"I do know you, it's just…"

"You know us as Ron and Hermione, right?" Harry nodded. "Well, I'm Gilbert Flint. I play Ron Weasley in the movie. This is Emily Dawson. She plays Hermione Granger."

"Do you know what happened to me?" Harry asked. "Why am I in the hospital?"

Emily explained to Harry that the movie cast had been on set the day before, rehearsing some of the high wire stunts before filming started. He had been hooked up to wires when one of them snapped, sending him tumbling from thirty-five feet up.

"And you were knocked unconscious," she finished.

"You are my friends aren't you?" Harry asked.

"Of course," Gilbert replied.

"Very good friends," Emily added.

"I'm scared," Harry said. "I've never felt so completely terrified in all of my sixteen year life."

Gilbert and Emily exchanged glances.

"Um," Emily said. "You're not sixteen."

"What?" Harry asked. "What are you talking about? My birthday was on the thirtieth of July."

Emily shook her head. "Harry Potter's birthday is on the thirtieth of July. Donald Bradley's is on the twenty-third of July. You're eighteen, not sixteen."

Harry turned to Gilbert, who nodded. "Oh, dear Merlin," Harry said. "I'm going mad!"

Emily grabbed him by his shoulders. "Calm down. Everything will be OK."

Harry broke down into tears. Emily pulled him into a comforting embrace. Gilbert stood up and came over to them, placing a hand on Harry's shoulder.

"It's all right, mate," he said. "Everything will get sorted out."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

Harry wiped away a few lingering tears. Emily grabbed a tissue form the side table and handed it to him. He took it and blew his nose.

"What about the book?" Harry asked.

"The book?" Gilbert asked.

"I'm a character in a book, right?" Emily and Gilbert nodded. "I want to see a copy of a book."

"Well," Gilbert said. "It's a series. There are seven books."

"One for each year at Hogwart's," Harry said, making the connection.

"Exactly," Emily said. "They might have it in the gift shop."

"Can you go look for me? Please?"

"Sure. But which book do you want?"

"You said you're sixteen, right?" Gilbert asked Harry. Harry nodded. Gilbert turned to Emily. "If Harry Potter is sixteen and recently had his birthday, he would be in his sixth year."

Emily nodded. "I'll get the sixth book, then."

She got up and left the room. Gilbert watched her as she left, then turned to Harry.

"You're really, seriously Harry Potter, aren't you?" Gilbert asked.

"I am. Really, I am. But, you all said…"

Gilbert shushed him and looked over his shoulder. He got up and closed the door. Then he sat down again.

"Listen," he said. "I'm going to tell you something I haven't told anyone else before. OK?" Harry nodded. "Something like this has happened to me before."

Harry's eyes widened. "What?"

"On my birthday. I got piss drunk and blacked out. I woke up to Molly Weasley yelling at me. I don't know if it was just some bizarre dream or whatever, but I _was_ Ron Weasley for a whole week. I could do magic, I flew on a broom. Everything."

"Well, does that mean that Donald Bradley is in my reality as me?"

Gilbert shook his head. "I don't know."

"What else happened while you were there?"

"I tried to go on with what was happening around me. I read the books, so I knew what was going to happen."

"How did you get back to being you?"

Gilbert shrugged. "I have no idea. That must have been all Ron's doing. I do remember that it really hurt. Like, symptoms of a hangover starting to take effect."

Harry sighed. "I'm stuck here. I have no magic. This is a nightmare."

"It's not all bad. There are some positive things about being here, aren't there?"

"If you say so."

Just then, Emily returned. She slid the paper jacket off of the hardcover book. Then she opened it to the first page and handed it to Harry.

"I didn't want you to see the title," she said. "The book is almost like a giant divination assignment for you."

Harry chuckled at her joke. He skimmed through the pages, remembering everything that had gone on. Suddenly, he stopped and pointed to a spot on the page.

"That's it," he said. "That's the last thing that I remember."

Emily took the book from him and read over the page to herself.

"OK," she said. "So, you, Ron and Hermione were sitting on the rooftop of the burrow, stargazing." Harry nodded. "And, you all wished upon the shooting star." He nodded again. "Then Mrs. Weasley called you inside and you went."

"Not quite," Harry said. "We were all headed back in. I slipped and fell off the roof."

"That didn't happen in the story," Gilbert said. He looked over Emily's shoulder at the book. "No, didn't happen in the book."

"Excuse me."

They all looked up to see Martha Bradley in the doorway. "I'm sorry, guys," she said. "But 'Harry Potter' needs to get some rest."

Harry didn't like the way she had said his name. Aunt Petunia had used the same tone when Dudley was younger and played games of make-believe. She was humoring him.

His distaste for being treated this way had been reflected outward and Emily caught sight of the look on his face. She shut the book and placed it on his side table.

"How about a hug?" she asked. Harry nodded. As they embraced, she whispered to him. "I do believe you're Harry Potter. Even if no one else does."

When they parted, Harry smiled at her. She returned the smile.

"See you later, then," Gilbert said.

"Thanks, mate," Harry said.

Then Gilbert and Emily left. Martha came into the room and sat down on Harry's bed.

"Did you three have a nice visit?" she asked.

Harry shrugged. "It did get a little emotional."

Martha nodded. "Understandable, given the circumstances. Everybody is real worried about you. All of them want to visit."

"I'd like to meet them. Um…I mean, see them."

Martha glanced away and then looked back at him. "I think it would be better if we held off on the visitors until your memory comes back."

Harry sighed. "You think the bump on my head made me crazy, don't you?"

Martha sighed. "I don't even know how to answer that question."

"You are my mum, aren't you?"

"Not if you're Harry Potter, I'm not."

"Well, can you be my mum? Just until you get Donald back? I've never had a real mum, you know?"

Martha smiled. "Of course, dear."

The two of them shared a hug.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

Harry awoke the next morning and his heart sank to see that he was still in the hospital. He had fallen asleep that night with the hope that he might get back to his world. He did cheer up a bit when he saw Martha asleep in a chair by his bedside. He smiled to himself at the thought of having a mother.

Just then, the nurse came into the room. Harry put his finger to his lips, signaling her to be quiet and then pointed to Martha. The nurse nodded in understanding.

"Are you hungry?" she asked in a whisper.

"A little," Harry whispered back.

"I'll bring you something to eat."

"Thank you."

The nurse smiled at him and left the room, passing Albert Bradley as she did. Harry signaled him to be quiet as well.

"How are you feeling?" Albert whispered.

"All right, I guess," Harry whispered back.

"I've talked to your doctor. They're going to let you come home today."

"Oh. OK. But…"

"What?"

"What about the movie? I, um, overheard you and Martha talking. Wasn't it supposed to start filming today?"

Albert nodded. "Yes, but it's been pushed back a week to allow you some time to get better."

"Well, what do I do in the mean time?"

"Just hang around the house. Play video games, surf the Internet. Just do what any normal teenage boy would do."

Harry thought for a moment. "Could I have Emily and Gilbert come over?"

"Sure. If you'd like."

Martha started to wake up. She stretched and opened her eyes, looking at the two of them.

"Blimey," she said. "What time is it?"

Albert looked at his watch. "About ten o'clock."

Martha turned to Harry and smiled. "Sleep all right last night, Harry?"

"Fine, Martha. Thank you. The nurse is going to bring me breakfast."

"Oh, that's good. It won't quite be what you're used to having at Hogwart's, but I reckon it'll be OK."

Harry nodded.

"Martha, could I talk to you outside for a moment?" Albert asked.

Martha nodded. They stood and went out into the hallway, closing the door slightly. They tried to be quiet, but Harry could still hear them talking.

"What are you doing?" Albert asked.

"What are talking about?" Martha asked. "I'm not doing anything."

"That boy in there is not Harry Potter. You realize that, don't you?"

"Albert, he is Harry Potter. He truly believes it. If we don't go along with this, our child could be traumatized for life."

"Well, how do you expect him to get better if you keep on with his delusions?"

"It's just a temporary thing. Just until his memory comes back."

"Martha, he is not Harry Potter. Don't pretend that he is."

"I want our son back just as much as you do. Until that happens, I am going to be a mother to that boy in there. Harry, Donald or otherwise, he is my son. He is scared, he doesn't understand what's going on and he needs people to hold his hand and tell him that everything's going to be all right. You do it your way, I'll do it mine."

Then Martha came back into the room. She sat down on Harry's bed.

"Is everything OK?" Harry asked her.

Martha nodded. "Yes. Fine."

"Martha, you don't have to call me Harry."

"Oh. You heard us just now, didn't you?"

Harry nodded slowly. "I didn't mean to eavesdrop."

Martha smiled. She put an arm around him and kissed his forehead. "Don't worry about it."

"I don't want you two to fight. Not over me."

"Darling, adults argue sometimes. Understand that this is not easy for us. Albert and I both have different ways of handling this situation." Martha stood. "Goodness, that bed isn't very comfortable, is it?"

Harry laughed. "I've slept in a cupboard, remember? This bed is nothing compared to that."

"Well, when we get you home, you'll have a nice, big, comfortable bed to sleep in. Promise, no cupboard for you."

Harry smiled and Martha smiled back.

**_HP_**

When it came time for the Bradley's to take Harry home from the hospital, Martha came into his room with a bag in her hands.

"I brought you some clothes," she said. "You can go change in the bathroom."

"OK. Thank you."

Harry got out of bed. He took the bag of clothes from Martha and went into the bathroom. Minutes later he emerged from the bathroom, dressed in a white t-shirt, jeans and black Converses.

"Look OK?" he asked.

Martha nodded. "Just fine. But weren't there other things in that bag I gave you?"

Harry peered into the bag. "You mean the hat and the jacket?"

Martha nodded. "It's sort of Donald's thing. That, and it's a bit cold outside."

Harry nodded. He took the jacket and the hat out of the bag and put them on. "Better?" he asked.

"Yes," Martha said. "Thank you."

Then Albert came into the room. "Ready to go?" he asked. Harry nodded. "When you get out there, don't look at anyone and don't talk to anyone. Just keep your eyes straight. OK?" Harry nodded. "Alright, then. Let's go."

Albert led them out of the room and over to the elevator. They got inside and listened to the soft rock music pouring out of the overhead speakers as it made its slow decent. When they reached the ground floor, two security guards greeted them. Now standing in the lobby, Harry looked out the giant glass windows and saw all the reporters outside. He froze to his spot, terrified. Martha placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Just walk straight to the car," she whispered.

Harry nodded. The two security guards escorted the family out of the building. Immediately, the reporters started snapping pictures and asking questions. Harry paid them no attention and walked straight to the car, which had been parked near the entrance. Martha opened the car door and she and Harry climbed into the backseat while Albert got into the driver's seat. Once all buckled in, Albert drove them home.

Free of the reporters, Harry realized that he had been holding his breath. He let it out slowly. Martha took his hand in hers and gave it a reassuring squeeze.

"You did good," she said.

Harry gave her a small smile. Then he turned and looked out the window. Martha pointed out certain places to him, explaining the significance they had in Donald's life.

Twenty minutes later, Albert pulled the car up in front of a white, two-story house. This house put his previous residence at number four Privet Drive to shame.

"Wow," Harry said.

The three of them got out of the car and went up to the house.

"Why aren't there any reporters here?" Harry asked.

"They probably expected you to be at home," Albert said.

"You mean Donald doesn't live here?"

"No," Martha said. "Donald has his own flat on the outskirts of town."

"Oh. OK, then."

Albert unlocked the door and they all went inside.

"Bentley! Nala!" Martha called out.

Harry expected Bentley and Nala to be Donald's brother and sister or maybe some hired help. He soon found out that Bentley and Nala were two adorable Beagles. They ran up to Harry and started to sniff him. Then they started to growl at him. Harry took a step back.

"Crazy dogs," Albert said, grabbing one by the collar. "Martha, let's put them out in the yard for now."

Martha grabbed the other one's collar. "We'll be right back. Just have a look around."

She and Albert guided the dogs out of the room. Harry wandered into the living room. He gazed at all of the pictures on the fireplace. The moment he saw Donald, he knew exactly why he had been cast as Harry Potter. The two boys looked so much alike, it was scary.

Harry then climbed the stairs to the second floor. He peered into all of the rooms until he found one with a green plastic D on the door. He knew this must have been Donald's room before he moved out.

Martha came up the stairs and joined Harry.

"I remember the day I put that up there," she said with a smile, motioning to the D on the door. "Donald was about three. He was just learning the alphabet. I took him shopping with me one day and he picked that up off of the shelf. He kept saying, 'D for Donald, mummy.' He refused to let it go, so I bought it for him. When we got home, I asked him where he wanted to put it. He pointed to his door. It's been up there ever since."

Harry smiled. "It's a lovely story."

Martha pointed to the bed. "Promised you a big bed, didn't I? Go try it out."

Harry ran into the room and dove onto the bed. Martha laughed at this sudden outburst of deliciously childish behavior. Harry rolled himself over onto his back, tucking his hands behind his head.

"Nice, big, comfortable bed," he said.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

Harry walked into the kitchen and collapsed into a chair at the table. Sighing heavily, he folded his arms on the table and rested his chin on them. Martha, who had been putting dishes away from the dishwasher, turned to look at him.

"What's the matter, dear?" she asked.

"I'm bored," Harry replied.

Martha rambled off of a list of things that Harry might like to do. Harry had tried all of them all ready. Martha finally gave up.

"I don't know, Harry," she said. "What would you be doing if you were at home right now?"

"I'd be at Hogwart's," he replied. He sighed. "I appreciate all that you're doing for me, but…"

"It's OK. I know what you mean."

Just then, a thought popped into Harry's head. He sat up in his seat. "Could I invite Emily and Gilbert over? Albert said it would be OK."

"Oh, sure. Um, I think I have their phone numbers written down somewhere. Be right back."

Martha left the room. She returned a few minutes later with an address book. She handed it to Harry.

"Thank you," Harry said.

He flipped the book open and found Gilbert's cell phone number. He dialed it, but no answer. He hung up and flipped through the book for Emily's cell phone number. He dialed it and Emily picked up after the second ring.

"Hello?" she said when she answered.

"Hi, Emily. It's me."

"Oh, hi…um, Harry?"

"Yes. That's right."

"Oh, OK. Just checking. Saw you on the news earlier. So you're home now, are you?"

"Yes, I'm staying with Albert and Martha."

"Great. So how are you feeling?"

"Bored, but OK. I'm going stir crazy, I think. Would you like to come over and hang out for a bit? Maybe stay for dinner?"

"Sure. I'll be there in a little bit."

"OK, see you then."

"Bye!"

Harry hung up the phone. No sooner than he did, the doorbell rang. Harry wandered out to the living room and saw Martha taking Emily's jacket.

"Boy, that was quick," he said.

Emily laughed. "Don't worry, I didn't apparate myself over. You need a license to do that. I was outside your house when you called. Thought you might like some company."

Harry smiled. "Great minds think alike."

"Emily," Martha said. "Would you like to stay for dinner?"

"Yes, that would be lovely," Emily said. "Thank you."

"Alright, then. I'll call you when it's ready." Martha went back to the kitchen.

"Everything OK?" Emily asked.

"Had a thought," Harry said. "As to why I might be here. In this world, you know?"

"You want to tell me?"

"Not here. Follow me."

Harry led Emily upstairs to his bedroom. They went inside and Harry shut the door behind her. She sat in the chair at his desk and he sat on the bed.

"Well?" Emily prodded him.

"Albert said something to me earlier," Harry said. "I asked him what I should do until everything got better. He told me to hang around the house, play videos, surf the Internet and just do what any normal teenage boy would do. When I was sitting on the rooftop with Ron and Hermione, I wished on a shooting star. My wish was to be normal for once."

Emily gave him a confused look. "I'm not following."

"Don't you see? My wish came true. I'm normal. No magical powers. No world to save." He pulled back his bangs. "No scar."

"Harry, forgive me, but it doesn't seem that you are quite normal. Donald Bradley is famous, too. Granted, he doesn't have as many responsibilities as you."

"True. But I like it here."

"But magic doesn't exist here." Emily stood. "And what about your family?"

"My parents are dead, Emily. So is Sirius. And you know how horrid the Dursley's are."

"But what about the Weasleys? And Hermione? And all your friends at Hogwart's? They count as family, don't they?"

"I suppose."

Just then, there was a knock at the door.

"Come in," Harry said.

The door opened and Albert came into the room. He glanced at Emily and then turned back to Harry. "No girls are to be in this room," Albert said sternly. "Unless this door is open. _All _the way open. Understood?"

"Yes, sir," Harry said.

Albert turned and left the room. Harry waited until he was out of earshot before continuing the conversation.

"You know what I'd like to do?" Harry asked.

"What's that?" Emily asked.

"I'd like to meet the author of these books. They control my life and I've always wanted to know why things were so difficult for me."

Emily thought for a moment. "Maybe that's not such a bad idea."

"You really think so?"

"Yes. I mean, if Casey Fowler controls your life, maybe there's some alternate version she wrote that put you here in our world."

Harry thought for a moment. "How soon can we go see her?"


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

Harry had decided to wait until after Emily left to ask Martha and Albert about going to Casey's. Emily said that she would ask Gilbert to come with them, seeing as how he knew about Harry, and that he was licensed to drive. Emily would also take care of calling Casey and setting up their visit. So when dinner was finished and Emily was on her way home, Harry brought it up with Martha and Albert. They sat at the kitchen table and had their discussion.

"Please?" Harry begged.

"No," Albert said. "Absolutely not."

"Albert…" Martha said.

"The whole purpose of pushing the production back a week is so that he could get his memory back and get better," Albert explained. "How will it look if he's out and about?"

"He's only going to visit with Casey," Martha said. "That's hardly what I'd call 'out and about'. And it might spark some memories."

"He has to take a bus to get there. And make two transfers."

"Gilbert can drive. He and Emily are going, too."

"How can we be so sure that we can trust him?"

"I don't know, Albert. Why don't you ask him? He's sitting right there."

Albert turned to face Harry. "You will go to Casey's?"

"Yes, sir," Harry said.

"With Emily and Gilbert?"

"Yes, sir."

"You won't go anywhere else?"

"No, sir."

"You won't pick up anyone on the way?"

"No, sir."

"You'll be back at a decent hour?"

"Yes, sir."

Albert was quiet for a moment. "I'll think about it," he said.

Harry nodded. Albert got up from the table and left the room. Harry turned to Martha.

"Is that a good thing?" he asked.

Martha nodded. "Yes, it is."

"Do you think he'll say yes?"

"I think there's a real good chance."

Harry smiled and Martha smiled back

**_HP_**

The next morning, Harry was wakened by a knock on his bedroom door. He groaned at this disturbance.

"Come in," he said.

The door opened and Albert stepped into the room.

"Get up," he said. "Emily and Gilbert will be here in an hour."

Harry sat up. "Does that mean I can go to Casey's?"

"Yes, but don't stay too long. Casey has a baby to look after. And remember all the things we talked about last night."

Harry nodded. "Thank you."

Albert turned and left the room, pulling the door shut behind him. Harry immediately got up and showered. He dressed quickly and ate bowl of cereal. He finished his breakfast just as Emily and Gilbert arrived. Harry answered the door when they rang the doorbell.

"Hey," Gilbert said. "Ready to go?"

"Yeah," Harry replied. "Let's go."

"Aren't you going to say goodbye?" Emily asked.

Harry turned around. "Martha! Albert! I'm going to Casey's now!"

"Bye!" he heard the both of them chorus.

Harry stepped outside, pulling the door closed behind him. He followed Emily and Gilbert to the car. Emily claimed the front seat and Harry had no complaints. They climbed into the car and drove to Casey's.

An hour and a half later, Gilbert pulled the car up in front of Casey's house. They piled out of the car and went to the front door. Emily rang the doorbell. Moments later, a blond haired woman answered, holding her baby girl in her arms. She smiled when she saw the three of them on her doorstep.

"I'm glad to see you," she said.

"You too, Casey," Emily said.

Casey stepped aside and the three of them came inside. She shut the door behind them and led them down the hall to the living room.

"Let me put the baby down," she said. "I'll be right back. Make yourselves comfortable."

Then she left the room. Emily and Gilbert sat down on the couch. Harry wandered the room, looking at the framed pictures and knick-knacks.

"Hey," he said, pointing to one of the pictures. "She's got a picture of you all together. You two, Donald, and her."

Emily looked at the picture he was pointing to. "Yes," she said. "That was at the premiere for the first movie."

"She has it on her mantle, though. That's pretty cool."

Just then, Casey came back into the room. "You going to sit down, Harry?" she asked.

Harry turned around quickly to face her. "How did you…I mean, why…?"

"Emily told me what was going on," Casey said. "At first, I thought she was mad, but seeing you here in front of me, I know she's right." Casey brought a hand up to his face. "I'd know you anywhere."

Harry smiled. He supposed that in a way, Casey was like his mother also. After all, he had been created from her imagination.

Casey sat down in the rocking chair. Harry took a seat on the couch between Emily and Gilbert.

"So," Casey said. "What is it you wanted to talk to me about?"

"Well," Emily said. "It seems that Harry Potter has stepped through the pages of your books and into the real world."

"Yes, I can see that."  
"So," Gilbert said. "Why is he here?"

Casey shook her head. "I don't know."

Harry stood. "What do you mean you don't know?"

"I have no explanation for it. I don't why you're here or how you got here or how we get you back."

"How can you not know? You're the only one that could possibly know. _You _control everything in my life. My life is a series of books that _you_ wrote."

"I didn't write this part of your life, Harry. You weren't supposed to fall off of that roof that night."

"We have to get him back, Casey," Emily said. "He doesn't belong in our world."

"I'm sorry, guys," Casey said. "I really don't know what to do."

Harry sat down again. He put his head in his hands and gave an exasperated sigh.

"Anything else you want to talk about?" Casey asked.

Harry looked up at her. "Why did you write everything the way you did?"

Casey leaned forward in her chair. "I know that you sometimes wonder why it's so hard for you. Believe me, Harry. I don't purposely torture my characters. I put you through all of it so that when all is said and done, it will be a miracle if you're still standing. If that happens, the people that have been rooting for your success ever since the first book will applaud you."

Harry thought about it. "Will I still be standing when all is said and done?"

"I can't tell you that, Harry. It may be written already, but it is still up to you. You will have to find out for yourself."


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

Before the three left the house, Casey suggested to Harry that he read the books. Harry agreed and then they left. The ride home from Casey's was quiet. Emily caught a glimpse of Harry in the rearview mirror. He was looking out the window, a dismal look on his face. Emily turned around in her seat as much as the seatbelt would allow.

"You all right, Harry?" Emily asked.

"I'm never going back, am I?" he asked.

Emily gave him a curious look. "What are you talking about? Of course you'll get back."

Harry turned to face her. "How?"

Emily shook her head. "I don't know."

"See? Nobody knows. Not even Casey."

"You can't give up hope. You of all people should know that there is always a way."

Harry turned and looked out the window again. Emily turned back around to face the front.

"We're here," Gilbert said a few minutes later.

He pulled the car up in front of Martha and Albert's house.

"Thank you for coming with me," Harry said. "Both of you."

"You're welcome," Gilbert said.

"We'll see you later, Harry," Emily said.

"What? You'll see me later? What for?"

"Martha and Albert are having some of the cast members over tonight," Gilbert explained. "Didn't they tell you?"

"No, they didn't."

"Oh. Well, they are."

"Alright. See you later then."

Harry got out of the car and went inside. Bentley and Nala came running up to him, jumping on him. The two dogs had taken a liking to Harry since he had been sneaking bits of food to them under the kitchen table.

"Nice to see you, too," Harry said as he petted them both. "Come on, then."

Harry went to the kitchen and the two dogs followed. He got them treats and had them do tricks before tossing the treats to them. Then Harry went upstairs to his room, the dogs still following. He looked at the books on Donald's bookshelf. He noticed that none of the Harry Potter books were on the shelf. There was just a big gap where he suspected the books might have been at one point.

"Hello."

Harry turned and saw Martha standing in the doorway with a stack of books in her hands.

"I thought I heard you come in," she said.

"What are those?" Harry asked.

"Oh. I took Casey's books and covered up the titles."

"I was just looking for those. Casey said that I should read books one through five. Maybe watch the movies also."

"I think that's a good idea. You'd better get started." Martha handed the books to Harry.

Harry took them and looked them over. "Blimey, these things are thick."

Martha nodded. "I think those are some of the biggest books I've ever read."

Harry set the books down. "Martha, is it true that some of the cast members from the movie are coming over tonight?"

Martha nodded. "We decided it would be nice to have them over. Although, Albert and I do have different takes on how it will benefit you. He thinks that seeing all the actors will spark Donald's memories."

"And you?"

"I just thought that you might like to see the actors who portray all the people in your life."

"It would be interesting, I think."

"I'll be downstairs if you need me. Everyone's coming around six o'clock."

Martha turned and left the room. Harry sat down on his bed. He grabbed book number one and opened it to the first page. Bentley and Nala jumped up onto the bed and curled up in his lap.

**This chapter is short and kind of crappy, but I'm using it as a set up for what comes next.**


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

There was a knock at Harry's bedroom door.

"Harry, it's Emily. Can I come in?"

There was no reply. The door opened slowly and Emily poked her head in. She saw Harry sitting on his bed. His hands gripped the edge of the mattress and he stared at one spot on the floor. Emily knew something was wrong. She came into the room and shut the door behind her. She came over to where Harry was sitting and stood in front of him.

"Are you all right?" Emily asked.

Harry slowly shook his head. It was then that Emily noticed that his face was pale and that he was breathing faster than normal.

"What's wrong? You look like you've just seen…"

Harry jerked his head up to meet her gaze. Emily's eyes widened.

"Oh, my goodness. Oh, Harry. I'm sorry."

Emily sat down next to him on the bed. She pulled him into a comforting embrace and he hugged her back. Emily could feel his body shaking.

"That must have been quite a fright you had."

Harry nodded. Emily released him from her embrace.

"You've got to remember that they're just actors and not the real people. OK?"

Harry nodded. They sat for a little while in silence. Taking deep breaths, Harry's breathing returned to normal and his nerves settled.

"Any better?" Emily asked.

"Much," Harry said. "Thank you."

Emily smiled. Then she stood. "We'd better get downstairs before they start getting suspicious."

Harry laughed. "OK, then. Let's go."

He stood and followed Emily downstairs where the Harry Potter cast was mingling about. Martha emerged from the crowd and came over to Harry and Emily.

"Everything all right?" she asked.

"Yes," Harry said. "I'm fine now."

Martha put an arm around him and kissed his forehead. "It's a party, darling. Have some fun." Then she returned to a small group huddled together.

"Where's Gilbert?" Harry asked Emily.

"I don't know," Emily replied, looking around the room. "Oh, there he is. Over there."

Just then, she heard a small gasp from Harry. She turned to look at him and saw that he had tensed up. She followed his gaze across the room. She saw who Gilbert was talking to and understood why he froze up.

"Relax," she said. "Just actors, remember?" Harry took a deep breath and nodded. "C'mon, I'll introduce you."

She took Harry's hand and led him across the room.

"Hey, Barry. Hey, Roger."

Harry wasn't sure who was who, but the two guys that Gilbert had been talking to turned and greeted Emily. One of them was roughly the same age as Gilbert. The other was a bit older.

Emily turned to Harry. "This is Barry Newfolk," she said as she motioned to the older guy.

"Sirius Black," Harry said.

Emily nodded. "And this is Roger Addison," motioning to the younger guy.

"Cedric Diggory."

Emily nodded again.

"How are you?" Barry asked.

"All right," Harry said.

"But the memory is still gone?" Roger asked.

"It's complicated," Harry said.

Roger nodded. "You know, I'm actually kind of glad that your parents set this little thing up. I'm glad to see everyone again." He looked around the room. "Oh, I've got to go talk to someone real quick. I'll be back."

Harry nodded. He watched Roger walk over to another group of people and start up a conversation with a red-haired girl.

"Who is that he's talking to?" Harry asked.

"Tawny Albright," Gilbert replied.

"Who does she play?"

"Ginny Weasley."

Harry looked back and forth between Gilbert and Tawny. "That is _not _Ginny Weasley."

"It is," Barry reassured him.

"She's played Ginny in the last fives movies," Gilbert said. "And she's going to play her again in the sixth."

Harry just stood there, staring at Tawny. When she looked his way, he quickly averted her gaze. Barry, Gilbert and Emily looked at each other and stifled a laugh.

"What?" Harry asked them.

"Nothing," they said in a chorused reply.

**_HP_**

As the party started to break up and more people started to leave, Harry finally had a chance to talk to Emily and Gilbert alone. They were cleaning up the kitchen.

"Hey," Gilbert said. "I had a thought earlier. You know, about this situation."

Harry and Emily stopped what they were doing and turned to Gilbert.

"And?" Harry asked.

Gilbert looked over his shoulder to make sure there was no one that might overhear him. Then he turned back to them. "Emily mentioned earlier that there might have been an alternate version of the sixth book that put you in our world."

"But there isn't," Emily said. "Casey already said that she didn't write the book this way."

"Right. So if she didn't write up this alternate story, who is the only other person that could have?"

Emily thought for a moment. She turned to Harry, who shrugged.

"I don't get it," she said.

"A Harry Potter fan fic writer!" Gilbert said.

"What?" Harry asked.

"Fan fic," Emily said. "Or fan fiction. They are stories written by fans of Harry Potter, using the same characters and settings from the books."

"That seems kind of creepy to me."

"Yeah, but there are a lot of them out there. Even websites totally dedicated to these stories. Fans write them and other fans read them."

"So, they write up stories with Harry Potter characters?"

Emily nodded. "They control everything in the story. Where they go, what they do."

"And who they do," Gilbert said.

"Gilbert!" Emily exclaimed.

"Wait a minute," Harry said. "You mean these writers are writing erotic fan fictions as well?"

"All the time," Emily said.

"They can get kind of twisted," Gilbert said.

"Why's that?" Harry asked.

"Everybody's shagging each other," Gilbert replied. "And I do mean _everybody_. Every possible combination you could ever come up with. Wizard on witch, witch on witch, wizard on wizard, wizard on house elf…"

"We get it, Gilbert!" Emily yelled.

"Eww," Harry said, making a face. "Glad I didn't end up in one of those."

"Seriously," Gilbert said. "Think about it for a minute. This seems like something out of a fan fic. Harry Potter one day waking up in the real world, and how's he going to get back without magic?"

"I must admit," Emily said. "This does sound like something straight out of a fan fic."

"So," Harry said. "All we have to do is find the story and contact the person writing it. Make them put me back in my world."

"It's going to be a lot harder than that," Emily said. "We've got to go through all the stories. There must be millions of Harry Potter fan fics. The books are sold all over the world and translated into many different languages."

"The Internet doesn't make it easy, does it?" Gilbert asked.

"So we split it up," Harry suggested. "If we search the websites, each taking a different one and keeping track of the ones we search, we can find it."

Emily looked at Gilbert. "What do you think?"

Gilbert nodded. "Sounds like a plan."

"All right, then," Harry said. "We start tomorrow morning."


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine

"That's another negative, Emily," Harry said.

Emily stopped typing on her laptop and picked up the pen and pad of paper by her side. "What site was wrote it down and then went back to her laptop. It had been about twelve hours since they had first started their search. They had taken breaks for lunch and dinner, but got right back to work when they were finished. Gilbert had left already, wanting to get home before he was too tired to drive.

Suddenly, Emily let out a huge yawn. Harry looked up at her.

"You tired?" he asked.

Emily shook her head. "I'm fine. We've got to keep looking."

"Emily, if we're not fully awake while we're looking, we might miss it."

Emily sighed. "OK. You're right. Let's pick it up tomorrow."

Harry and Emily shut down their computers. As they did, Albert came into the room.

"Hey," he said. "It's getting late, don't you think?"

"We're just finishing up," Harry said. "I'm going to walk Emily home. Is that OK?"

"Oh, of course," Albert said. "I wouldn't dream of letting Emily walk home by herself at this time of night."

"Thanks, Albert," Emily said.

Albert smiled at her. Then he turned and left the room. Emily finished packing up her laptop and the two of them headed for Emily's house.

"I should have brought a jacket," Emily said, hugging herself.

"You want mine?" Harry offered.

"But then you'll be cold."

"I'll be all right."

With that, Harry took off his jacket and draped it over Emily's shoulders. She looked at him and smiled.

"Thank you, Harry."

"You're welcome. All the help you've given me, it's the least I could do."

"You really miss it all, don't you?"

Harry sighed. "It's nice to be away from it all for a bit, but this isn't where I belong."

"Somehow, I don't think this was quite the normalcy you were wishing for."

"No, it's not."

By then, they had reached Emily's house. Harry walked her to the front door.

"Will I see you tomorrow?" he asked.

"Yes, of course," Emily said. "We'll keep looking. It's there somewhere. I know it is."

"Thanks for helping out. I really appreciate it."

"Hey, Hermione would have done the same thing."

Harry smiled and Emily smiled back. Then they just stood in silence for a moment, looking at each other. They moved in closer and leaned in for a kiss. After a few seconds, Emily pulled away.

"Harry," she said. "I can't do this."

Harry took a step back. His cheeks started to blush red and he looked at the ground. "I'm sorry."

"Listen, I just …I don't want to complicate things. You understand?"

Harry sighed. He looked up at Emily and nodded. "Yes, I do."

Emily took the jacket from around her shoulders and gave it back to Harry. He took it and put it on.

"I'll see you tomorrow," Emily said.

"Yeah," Harry said. "See you then."

Emily turned and went inside. Then Harry headed back to Martha and Albert's.

HP 

The doorbell rang at nine o'clock the next morning. Harry was just stepping out of the shower when he heard it. He groaned, silently cursing himself for oversleeping. He wrapped a towel around his waist and quickly made his way to his bedroom. He quickly threw on a pair of pants and headed downstairs. He stopped at the middle of the staircase when he heard arguing. He recognized the voices as belonging to Gilbert and Emily.

"Gilbert," Emily said. "You're not listening to me."

"You are messing with things that you have no business messing with," Gilbert said.

"Not true! This does concern me."

"Em, whatever we do to him could alter his existence and he may never get back."

"But we have to do whatever it takes to make sure the book ends the way that it's supposed to. You heard what Casey said. She wrote it, but it's still up to Harry."

Just then, the step behind Harry creaked. He turned around quickly and saw Tawny standing behind him.

"It's not polite to eavesdrop," she said.

"Well, they're not being very quiet about it," Harry said.

Tawny's face formed a curious expression. "Are you feeling all right?"

"I feel fine. Why do you ask?"

"You look a little pale." Tawny put a hand to his forehead. "You are a little warm."

"Well, I did just take a shower."

"Yes, I can see that." Tawny looked him over from head to toe.

Harry gave her a shy smile. "I just…didn't want to keep you all waiting."

Tawny nodded. "Still waiting, though. C'mon."

She grabbed Harry's wrist and led him down the stairs. Emily and Gilbert were standing in the foyer.

"Hey," Tawny said. "Look who I found."

Emily and Gilbert stopped arguing and looked up at them. Emily put her hands on her hips.

"It's about time, mister," she said.

"Sorry," Harry said.

Emily looked at Harry curiously. "Does he look…pale to you?" she asked the others.

"I just said the same thing," Tawny replied.

"Oh, shit," Gilbert said, wide-eyed.

"Gilbert, what is it?" Tawny asked.

Gilbert didn't say a thing. He just took off up the stairs. The others followed. Gilbert went into Harry's room and pulled a Harry Potter book from the bookshelf. He flipped through it.

"What are you doing?" Emily asked.

Gilbert looked up at them. "It's happening," he said.

"What is?" Harry asked.

Gilbert shoved the book into his hands. Emily and Tawny gathered around and looked over his shoulder. Halfway down the page that the book was turned to, the words had started to fade until they disappeared all together. Harry looked up at Gilbert.

"What does this mean?" Harry asked.

"It means that you've been here too long," Gilbert explained. "We don't send you back soon, you're going to disappear."

"We've got to find that fucking fan fic," Emily said.

Tawny took a step back, holding her hands up. "This is just too weird."

Emily stepped towards her, looking her in the eyes. "Tawny, we need your help. I know that you read fan fics all the time. It's the only way we can get Harry back where he belongs."

"Tawny," Harry said. "Please. Help me."

Tawny looked at Harry. Her face formed a serious expression. "I'll do what I can."

"We've got to get started," Gilbert said. "Let's go get our laptops."

Emily, Gilbert and Tawny headed out of the room. Tawny stopped and turned to Harry.

"You really are Harry Potter, aren't you?" Tawny asked.

Harry nodded. "I know it sounds mad, but…"

"Well, just a little. It's kind of cool, though."

"You really think so?"

"Yeah. I've always had daydreams about what it would be like to meet the real Harry Potter. Donald portrayed you very well, but that's as close as one could get. I'm glad Emily pulled me in on this project."

"Yeah, me too."

Tawny smiled at him and he smiled back. Then she turned and headed for the door.

"Tawny?" Harry said.

Tawny stopped and looked back at Harry. "Yeah?"

"How does the book end?"

Tawny turned to face him. "Why do you want to know?"

"Look, I know Emily's up to something. She's trying to make it so that the book ends the way it's supposed to."

"That does make sense to me. But Harry, you're not supposed to know what happens in your future. So, I can't tell you how the book ends."

Harry sighed and nodded. "All right."

"Just trust us."

"That I can do."

"Good."

Harry smiled and Tawny smiled back. Then she turned and left the room.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter Ten

There was a knock at Harry's bedroom door.

"Come in," Harry, Tawny, Emily and Gilbert said in unison.

The door opened and Martha came into the room. "Which one of you ordered pizza?"

"Me," Gilbert said. He set his laptop down beside him and stood up. "Thanks, Martha."

"You ordered pizza online?" Emily asked.

"What?" Gilbert asked. "I'm hungry."

"It would have been nice if you had stuck to our project."

"We can't work on empty stomachs." Gilbert left the room.

"What exactly is it you all are doing up here?" Martha asked.

"Well, um…" Harry started. But he was at a loss for words. He wasn't sure if he should tell Martha what they were doing and he didn't have a cover for it. Fortunately, Tawny helped him out.

"It's research," Tawny said.

"On what?" Martha asked.

"Donald." Tawny turned her laptop around to show Martha a Donald Bradley fan site. "Thought it might help him remember something."

"Oh," Martha said. "Alright, then. Just, take a break from it every now and then. I don't want you all to strain your eyes."

"Alright, mum," Harry said.

Martha shot him a smile and then left the room. Harry turned to Tawny.

"Thanks for that," he said.

"Improvisation is my fortay," she said. "But you know, your mum is right."

"Yeah," Emily said. "We'll eat and then get back to it."

Tawny looked over at Harry. "How you feeling?"

"The same," Harry replied.

"No offense, Tawny," Emily said. "But you don't need to ask him every ten minutes."

"Sorry. Just a bit worried."

"We all are."

Then Gilbert returned with two pizza boxes in one hand and a bottle of Pepsi cradled in the other.

"Lunch is served," he said.

Everyone put their computers aside and sat in a circle on the floor around the pizza. All at once, they each grabbed a slice of pizza. As he ate, Harry looked out the window. He saw that the sky was gray and storm clouds threatened a downpour.

"Looks like it's going to rain," Harry said.

Tawny looked out the window. "They said on the news that there was a chance of a storm."

"Let's just hope the power stays on," Gilbert said.

"Shush!" Emily snapped at him. "Don't jinx it."

HP 

Later that evening, a thunderstorm had started. Rough winds shook the branches of the trees and rain came down heavily, pelting the Bradley house. Inside, Harry, Tawny, Emily and Gilbert were still on their quest for the fan fic.

All of the sudden, there was a loud crack of thunder and all the lights went out. Tawny and Emily screamed.

"Calm down," Gilbert said. "The power's out."

Harry heard a jingle in the dark. Then he saw Gilbert shining a tiny flashlight that was attached to his key ring.

"Can we still use the computers?" Harry asked.

"For a few hours," Emily said. "They'll run off of the battery power."

"They're useless if we don't have Internet access," Tawny said.

Harry looked at his computer and saw that the web page he had been looking at was now a "cannot display web page" message. He looked up at the others.

"The Internet is down," he said.

"The power's out," Tawny said. "That means their no power to the modem or the wireless router. Without them, we can't access the Internet on our laptops."

Harry stood and paced the room. His mind raced, trying to come up with some alternative for accessing the Internet.

"What about a dial up?" Harry asked. "We can connect the laptops to the phone lines."

"That would only work for one computer," Emily said.

"Wait a minute," Gilbert said. He picked up the phone on Harry's desk and put it to his ear. Then he set it back on the cradle. "The storm knocked out the phone lines, too."

"There's got to be another way," Harry said desperately.

"There isn't," Tawny said.

"No! There's got to be something. Think."

"Harry, there's nothing we can do. We'll have to wait until tomorrow."

"And then what? I could disappear! I'd be totally erased. We've got to find that bloody fan fic!"

Harry punched the wall. He turned and slid to the floor. He put his head in his hands and started to cry. Tawny came over to where he was and pulled him into a comforting embrace.

"It's OK to be scared," Tawny said.

"I'm fucking terrified," Harry sobbed.

"Harry, we can't control the weather. We can keep looking tomorrow."

"We're losing time on this. I could disappear any minute."

Emily stood and came over to where they were. "We are not going to give up. We are going to keep looking."

"What happens if we don't find it?" Harry asked.

"At least you'll know we did all that we could," Gilbert said.

"What do you say to making a promise?" Emily asked. "We promise not to give up on Harry. To keep searching for that fan fic until we find it." Emily stuck her hand out.

"I promise," Gilbert said and he placed his hand on Emily's.

"I promise," Tawny said, adding her hand to the others.

Harry wiped some tears away and put his hand in. Then they all shared a group hug.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter Eleven

Harry woke the next morning to Bentley and Nala licking his face. Gently, he pushed the two dogs away from him. They jumped down from the bed and ran out of the room. Harry wiped his face and rolled onto his side. Then Martha came into his room.

"You're not up yet?" she asked. "Emily and Gilbert are going to be here soon."

Harry looked over at his clock. They were going to continue looking for the fan fic. Tawny's parents were having a family gathering at her house, but promised to join in the search later.

Harry grumbled. He threw the covers off of his bed and got up. The moment he stood, he suddenly felt dizzy. He sat down on the edge of his bed and rubbed his forehead.

"Are you all right?" Martha asked.

"Yeah," Harry said. "Just got up too fast."

"You look really pale. I hope you're not getting sick."

"Mum, I'm fine. Really."

"I'm going to take your temper, just in case."

Martha left the room. Harry sat for a moment longer and the dizzy spell passed. He tried to stand again, but with the same results. He leaned over and pushed the speaker button on his phone. Then he pushed the speed dial button for Emily's cell phone.

"Hello?"

"Emily, it's Harry."

"Hey. I'm on my way over right now."

"Hurry, please."

"Harry, what's wrong?"

"I don't have much time, Emily. I can feel myself starting to shut down."

"I'll be there as soon as I can."

"Alright. I'll see you."

"Bye."

Harry pushed the speaker button again, ending the phone call. Harry lay back in his bed. Just sitting up took too much effort.

Martha came back into the room. In her hand, she held a digital thermometer.

"Open," she said.

Harry opened his mouth and she placed the thermometer under his tongue. As Harry waited for the thermometer to beep, the doorbell rang.

"Mmm-ah-ee esh huh," Harry mumbled.

"Albert will let Emily in," Martha said, decoding Harry's mumbles. "Don't talk."

The thermometer beeped. Harry pulled it out of his mouth and looked at it.

"Normal," he said. "No fever."

"I think you need some rest, though," Martha said.

"I'd like Emily to stay. Just for a bit?"

"OK, for a little bit. Just take it easy. I'll send her up."

Martha left. Harry pulled the covers up around himself, feeling very cold. Then Emily rushed into his room. She came over to him and sat down on the edge of his bed. Her cheeks were flushed and her breathing was heavy. No doubt that she had run over to the house.

"Are you OK?" she managed to ask between breaths.

"I feel like shit," Harry replied. "It's kind of like flu symptoms."

"Have you talked to Gilbert yet? Does he know what's going on?"

"No, not yet."

The phone rang.

"Maybe that's him," Emily said.

Harry reached over and pushed the button for the speaker. "Hello?"

"Harry, it's Gilbert."

"Hey."

"Am I on speaker phone?"

"Yeah."

"Hey, Gilbert," Emily said.

"Listen, I need you two to be ready to leave when I get there. I'm about ten minutes away now."

"Why?" Harry asked. "Where are we going?"

"I found the fan fic. When the power came back on, I got on the Internet and looked for it. We're going to the girl's house."

"Good work. Not a moment too soon."

"Why's that?"

Harry gasped as a splitting headache suddenly came over him. He shut his eyes tightly.

"Harry?" Gilbert said. "What is it?"

"He's getting worse," Emily said. "You need to get here right quick."

"I'll be there as soon as I can. Just make sure you're both ready to go when I get there."

"Alright, bye."

Emily pushed the speaker button, ending the call. Then she turned to Harry. The pain had subsided some and he opened his eyes.

"You all right?" she asked.

"Do you remember the fourth movie?" Harry asked. "When Voldemort came back and touched his finger to my scar?" Emily nodded. "It's that painful."

"Oh." Emily grimaced. "Well, we need to get you ready."

"I'll just wear what I have on." Harry had slept in a t-shirt and plain, gray pajama pants. "Can you help me with shoes?"

"Sure." Emily grabbed his shoes as Harry sat up. She put them on him and tied them. "Can you get up and walk?"

"I don't know." Harry slowly stood up. He took a few unsteady steps towards Emily. "I'm going to need to lean on you."

"OK."

Emily put an arm around his shoulders. She guided him out of the room and down the stairs. Emily opened the front door to see Gilbert walking up the driveway.

"Perfect timing," he said.

"Help Harry into the car," Emily said. "I'll be right back."

"Where are you going?"

"I'm going to cover our arses."

Emily let go of Harry and walked back into the house. Gilbert led Harry over to his car and helped him into the backseat before getting into the driver's seat. A moment later, Emily came rushing out of the house. She slid into the backseat next to Harry.

"Get going," she said.

Gilbert threw the car into drive and they sped off. Harry tilted his head back and closed his eyes, trying to will the pain to go away. Emily held his hand.

"Just hang in, Harry," she said. Harry nodded. Then Emily turned to Gilbert. "How much further is it?"

"A few more blocks," Gilbert said. "What was it you just did back there?"

"I told Martha and Albert that I was leaving and that Harry was going back to sleep. It'll be a few hours before they go up to his room to check on him."

"Good work, Em."

"Oh, my God!" Emily turned around in her seat and looked out the back window. Then she turned back to Gilbert. "You stupid git! You just ran a red light! Are you trying to get us killed?"

"This is an emergency," Gilbert said.

"Yeah, try explaining that to the officer when we get pulled over."

Harry squeezed Emily's hand as the pain started to get stronger. Emily looked at him. His eyes were again shut tight and a tear trickled down his cheek.

"Just drive!" Harry said through gritted teeth. "Don't fight, just fucking drive!"

"I'm going as fast as I can," Gilbert assured him.

"We're almost there, Harry," Emily said. "It's not much further."

"It's just down this way." Gilbert made a turn onto a side street.

Emily looked out the window. "I've been here before." She turned to Gilbert. "Are we going where I think we're going?"

"Yes," Gilbert replied.

"Oh, my God. Are you fucking serious?"

"What?" Harry asked.

Gilbert passed Emily a piece of paper. "That's the first page of the fan fic."

Harry looked over Emily's shoulder at the paper. Across the top was

_Strange New World_

_A Harry Potter Fan Fic_

_Written by Virginia Sumdim_

Harry looked up at Emily. "I don't understand. What does this mean?"

"One of our cast mates told us that she writes under this penname," Emily said.

Harry was about to ask which cast mate it was, when he was hit with another shooting pain. The pain spread from his head into his neck and down his back.

"You are not going out like this," Emily said sternly. "Not when we're this close."

Gilbert pulled the car up in front of the house. He put the car in park and he and Emily quickly got out. They ran around to the other side and helped Harry out of the car. When he stood, Harry started to fall to the ground. Gilbert caught him under his arms and stood him upright.

"Stay with us," Gilbert said. "Almost there."

With both of them on either side of Harry for support, they walked to the front door. Gilbert knocked on the door. A moment later, a short, red-haired woman answered.

"Well," she said. "Gilbert, Emily, Donald. This is a surprise."

"Hi, Mrs. Albright," Emily said. "We need to talk to Tawny. It's important."


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter Twelve

"Come in, please," Mrs. Albright said.

Emily and Gilbert helped Harry into the house. Mrs. Albright shut the door behind them.

"Tawny," Mrs. Albright called to her daughter. "You have visitors."

"Be right there," Tawny called back.

Mrs. Albright turned to the trio. "I have some more preparations before my guests arrive. You will excuse me, won't you?"

"By all means," Emily said.

Mrs. Albright headed back to the kitchen. A minute later, Tawny came into the room. She stopped short when she saw Harry, Emily and Gilbert. Then she continued over to them.

"What the bloody hell are you all doing here?" she asked in a hushed voice.

Gilbert let go of Harry. He grabbed Tawny's arm and led her down the hall to her bedroom. Emily helped Harry and they followed them. Once all inside her room, Gilbert shut the door. Tawny pulled herself out of Gilbert's grasp.

"How dare you!" she yelled at him.

"You care to explain yourself?" Gilbert asked.

Tawny looked at him curiously. "Excuse me?"

"Knock it off, Tawny," Emily said. "We know."

"Know what?" Tawny asked.

"Stop playing dumb!" Emily yelled.

Emily shoved the first page of the fan fic into Tawny's hands. Tawny looked at it and then up at the others.

"Where did you find this?" she asked.

"There was a link to it on a fan site," Gilbert said.

"That's how you pulled it up so quick the other day," Emily said. "You had been to that site so many times before, it was in the computer's history. I can't believe you. You were pretending to help us out, and you were behind it the whole time."

"I didn't do anything," Tawny insisted. "I just wrote a fan fic. I didn't know it was going to cause a…shift between dimensions."

"You have to write the ending," Emily said.

Gilbert shook his head. "No time. She's got to delete it."

"I will not!" Tawny said.

"How could you be so selfish?" Emily asked. "You can't keep him in a bottle on your bureau. He has to get back to his world."

Suddenly, Harry fell to the floor, screaming. He curled up into the fetal position as the pain took over his entire body. Emily knelt down beside him, her calmness completely melted away.

"Harry!" she screamed in a panic.

"Delete the fan fic, Tawny," Gilbert said.

Tawny stood frozen to her spot, watching Harry's agony with her eyes wide. Gilbert grabbed her by her shoulders and shook her.

"He is going to disappear forever," Gilbert said. "We have to send him back. The only way to do it is to delete the fan fic."

Tawny nodded. Gilbert let her go and she went quickly to her computer. She opened the file for her fan fic. Suddenly, the room fell silent. They looked over at a ghostly pale Harry. His lips were moving, but no sound came out. Emily looked up at Tawny, tears in her eyes.

"Delete it," Emily said. Tawny hesitated. "Do it, Tawny! NOW!"

Tawny turned back to her computer and with one click, it was over.

**_HP_**

In that one moment, everything melted away. The pain was gone. The panicky yelling had ended. All Harry could feel was a warm breeze dancing across his skin. All he could hear was the chirping of crickets. He opened his eyes and saw that he was now sitting on the rooftop of the burrow. He touched his face and found that he was wearing his glasses. He checked his pocket and found that he had his wand. Looking over, he saw the other two wizards sitting beside him with their eyes closed. It was then that he knew that he had been brought back before his fall.

"Ron, Hermione," Harry said.

The two wizards opened their eyes and looked at Harry.

"What did you guys wish for?" Ron asked.

Hermione laughed. "Don't you know the rules of wishing? If you tell what you wished for…"

"The wish won't come true," Harry finished.

"Ron! Harry! Hermione!" called Mrs. Weasley from somewhere inside the house. "Where are you?"

"Be right there!" Ron called back. He turned to the others. "We'd better get back inside."

Harry and Hermione agreed. They all stood and made their way back to the window. As they climbed through the window and back into Ron's bedroom, Ginny came into the room.

"What were you doing out there?" Ginny asked.

"Stargazing," Ron replied.

"Oh, OK. Cool. Well, mum says it's time for certain witches and wizards to be in bed. C'mon, Hermione. You're bunking with me again."

Hermione turned to the boys. "Goodnight, you two."

"Goodnight, Hermione," Harry and Ron said in unison.

Hermione and Ginny headed for the door. Before leaving, Ginny looked back at Harry and smiled. Harry smiled back at her.

"What was that?" Ron asked.

Harry turned to him. "What?"

Ron cocked an eyebrow at his friend. "OK, never mind."

Then Ron and Harry changed into their pajamas and climbed into their beds.

"Hey, Ron."

"Yeah?"

"Can I ask you something?"

"Yeah, sure. What is it?"

"Does the name Gilbert Flint sound familiar to you?"

Ron's eyes widened. He got up and closed the door. Then he turned back to Harry. "How do you know that name?"

"Because just a few minutes ago, I was Donald Bradley."

"Holy shit." Ron crossed the room and sat down on his bed. "How did that happen?"

"I fell off the roof and woke up in a muggle hospital. How is it I remember but you don't have a clue?"

Ron thought for a moment. "Because when you came back, everything is the way it was when you left. It's like nothing had happened."

There was a knock at the door.

"Are you decent?" a voice asked from the other side.

"Yes," Ron replied.

The door opened and Mrs. Weasley came in. "Just wanted to say goodnight to you both." She went over to Ron and kissed his forehead. "Goodnight, Ronald."

"Goodnight, mum," Ron said.

Then Mrs. Weasley came over to Harry and also kissed his forehead. "Goodnight, Harry."

"Goodnight, Mrs. Weasley," Harry said.

The two boys wiggled down underneath their covers. Harry removed his glasses and placed them on the nightstand. Mrs. Weasley turned off the light and left the room, closing the door behind her.

"Ron? You still awake?"

"Yeah."

"So, tell me how it was that you got to their world."

"I don't really know. It was right before our third year. I just went to bed one night and the next morning, I woke up on the couch in Gilbert's living room with a terrible hangover."

Harry laughed. "Yeah, Gilbert told me he had been celebrating his eighteenth birthday the night before."

"But Emily and Donald helped me to get back. We tracked down a story this girl was writing. Once it was deleted, I came back."

"Bizarre. That's the same thing that happened to me. "

Just then, there was a knock at the door.

"Come in," Harry and Ron chorused.

The door opened and Hermione came into the room. She was dressed in her pajamas. She held a candle in one hand and a thick book in the other.

"Hermione," Harry said. "What's going on?"

Hermione shut the door. She crossed the room and placed the candle on Harry's nightstand. She handed Harry's glasses to him and he put them on. Then she sat down on Harry's bed.

"I wanted to show you something," she said. "I was skimming through this book the other day."

Ron got out of bed. "What is it?"

Hermione opened the book. "It's a book of all the special days in the wizarding world." She pointed to the page. "Alternus dah vacare dagis."

"What?" Harry and Ron asked.

"It means 'alternative day of vacation days'. It takes place during the last week of August. The book says that during this week only, a portal can be opened between two dimensions. In your case, the portal was opened because the writers started their stories sometime during that week, which allowed for the crossover. Once in the other dimension, you only have seven days, their time, before the portal closes. If it closes before you return, you disappear. In order to close the portal and return home, the stories had to be destroyed."

"Wait," Harry said. "How do you know about all of this?" Hermione and Ron exchanged glances. "You told Hermione and not me?"

"She was there!" Ron exclaimed. "You were still at the Leaky Cauldron. It would have been a day at least before you got an owl. And what if the owl was intercepted?"

Harry thought for a moment. "Alright, whatever. Still, you could have told me."

"That's partially my fault," Hermione said. "I advised him against telling anyone. And he swore me to secrecy."

"Do you think this will ever happen to us again?" Ron asked.

Hermione shrugged. "Hard to say."

"This has been one strange adventure, hasn't it?" Harry asked.

"Tell me about it," Ron said. "But then again, nothing has been normal for us."

"Right you are."

"Harry?" Hermione said.

"Yeah?" Harry asked.

"You didn't manage to get the book ending out of them, did you?"

"Sorry. No."

"Well then, I guess we'll just have to wait and see what it is that the future holds for us."

"Suddenly interested in divination, Hermione?" Ron teased.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Goodnight, boys."

"Goodnight, Hermione," Ron and Harry chorused.

Hermione shut her book. She grabbed her candle and left the room.

"Goodnight, Ron."

"Goodnight, Harry."

Ron climbed back into his bed. Harry took his glasses off and returned them to their place on the nightstand. Ron fell asleep quickly, but Harry stayed awake, turning over his thoughts in his head. He finally realized what Emily had tried to tell him. Harry had a family here. The Weasleys, Hermione, his friends at Hogwart's; all of them cared about Harry, looked out for him and backed him up when he needed it. Harry had wanted to have a normal life and once he had it, he came to realize he didn't want it. Life hadn't been easy for Harry, but for the most part, he was content with the way things were going. Happy to be back in his life, Harry smiled to himself. He rolled over and soon fell asleep.

**_The End_**


End file.
